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Rod
Charlesworth was born in 1955 in Terrace, British
Columbia, Canada. Rod’s fascination with art became
apparent at an early age. He was drawing at the age of
seven and began painting at the age of fourteen.
Charlesworth studied art at Okanagan College in Kelowna
but considers himself primarily self-taught. He is
inspired by the strength of the Canadian landscape and
people, which he portrays with powerful broad strokes
and vibrant colour. In general, his work is
characterized by a boldness one finds refreshing.
While
the surrealists influenced his earliest paintings, he
soon discovered the Impressionist school of art, and to
this day it is easy to see that the Impressionists have
provided a major influence on his work. Today, a
Charlesworth canvas is easily detected, with its rich
colours and heavily textured paint. Rod captures the
beauty and raw power of the Canadian landscape; much
like the painters he admired most, Tom Thompson and The
Group of Seven.
“Painting
can become tedious when the ultimate goal of the painter
is to recreate the external. I’ve always believed that
the curious mind of the artist should feel compelled to
ask – What if I did this?”
Rod’s work is now
collected worldwide and he is committed to painting
images that have a strong Canadian cultural influence,
whether that be through his bold landscapes or his more
recent whimsical rendering of children at play. He
continues to reside in British Columbia with his wife
and two sons. Charlesworth is exhibited widely and his
work is found in both private and corporate collections
across Canada.
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